Click below to ways to use holidays to improve English skills:
Holiday season is upon us in the U.S. which means it’s a great opportunity to improve our ELLs’ English language using seasonal vocabulary. We can take advantage of the season and use the excitement of the holidays to engage our students and really work on their English skills. Today, I am sharing some activities I wish I would have done to take full advantage of the holidays with my ELLs.
We’ve all tied the holidays into our lessons by teaching vocabulary, playing seasonal vocabulary games, or using word searches. But are these activities making the best use of our time with our students?
In this episode, we are looking at alternative activity options to be more intentional with our instructional time while still bringing in the excitement of the holidays for our students. We are covering ideas for teaching holiday vocabulary in context, the importance of including students’ native language when teaching holiday vocabulary, using discussion prompts in your lessons, and how to help your students feel included in your classroom and connected to the holidays.
The holiday season is always busy! It’s a great time to check out the Equipping ELLs membership so you can spend less time planning while still delivering high quality and engaging lessons! Inside the membership, you’ll have access to monthly lesson plans, resources, monthly coaching, and more! I’d love to help you spend more time with family and friends and less time lesson planning this holiday season!
Topics discussed in this episode:
- How to teach holiday vocabulary in context to make it meaningful and help students really understand the meaning of the words
- Why you should have students explore holiday vocabulary using their native language
- How to use discussion prompts to develop a deeper understanding of the vocabulary words
- The importance of bringing in holidays from other countries to build a stronger connection with your students
Resources:
- ESL Christmas & Holidays Around the World
- ELL Vocabulary Flashcards: Valentine’s Day ESL | ESL Conversation
- Check out more holiday resources here
- Download the ESL Teacher Toolkit
- Join the Equipping ELLs Membership
- Check out the ELL Strategy Academy
- Shop TpT resources that help with supporting your ELLs
Related episodes and blog posts:
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More about Equipping ELLs:
We all know that teaching isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be this hard. Equipping ELLs is a podcast for both ESL specialists and homeroom teachers who are looking for effective and engaging ways to support their English Language Learners without adding to their endless to-do list. Tune in each week to hear tips, strategies, and inspirational stories that will empower you to better reach your ELL students, equip them with life-long skills, and strengthen relationships with colleagues and parents.
Your host, Beth Vaucher, is the founder of Inspiring Young Learners. She is an ESL certified homeroom teacher with over 10 years of experience teaching in the US and internationally. Her background of M.Ed in ESL and Curriculum and Instruction combined with her experience has led her to develop a bestselling newcomer curriculum that has sold in over 90 countries around the globe. She brings a different perspective to teaching ELLs from her years teaching and living abroad and working with ELLs from around the world. You will walk away from each episode with the ideas and tools you need to transform your experience as a teacher and cultivate a thriving and welcoming environment for your ELL students.
